Gamechanger
by shadowfox97
Summary: She found herself, against all odds, alive when she should've been dead. It was a truth that left her a former shell of what she once was; watching longingly when the moon rose at night with a reason she couldn't fathom. She attempts to find out why she has been spared from death; although she might not like the answer.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

When probed for an answer, the matriarch of Konoha's one and only orphanage would say that Minori was an ordinary child, pleasant but distant, and that she had been part of the influx of children newly orphaned from the Kyuubi attack.

What she would not admit was that after the Kyuubi attack she and her caretakers found themselves overcome with the newly orphaned children; and so the children that screamed the loudest and demanded their attention the most were cared for first. Therefore slowly but surely the quiet ones like Minori, content with just their basic amenities seen to, slipped away into the recesses of their carers' minds until they could barely remember the names of the small children they looked after.

And so if the caretakers of the orphanage _had_ paid any attention to Minori, they might have seen the few, thin cracks and odd bumps in her pleasant but distant exterior. They would have never seen Minori play with any of the other children her age, instead they would have observed that she was content to sit and watch them with vacant eyes as she went about her thoughts. The girl did not have that shy, reserved continence that all children should have when a stranger arrived. Instead she moved and talked with an air of confidence whenever the prospective parents would arrive to choose an orphan to take into their home. The couples would be put off by her forwardness and when they would set off with another child a fleeting, satisfied smile would grace a face of complete and utter indifference, as if congratulating herself on a job well done. And for not interacting with adult or child alike, when she actively tried her social skills were surprisingly good, perfect even, for her short comings.

If the staff at the orphanage had paid any attention to Minori, they would not have said she was an ordinary child, nor that she was pleasant or even distant (though that was the closest they were to the truth). Minori was simply and utterly unnatural.

Why? Someone may have asked. For while she may have been a bit strange, she certainly never made anyone feel uncomfortable or strange. Perhaps 'odd' would have been a more gentle word to use; unnatural was too harsh, too unforgiving a word to even consider describing a young child.

But unfortunately, reality is often described as harsh and unforgiving.

-..-

Minori could keep up appearances throughout the day, when the kids she shared a room with would scream, move into her personal space without any thought and roughly grab her hair and pull with a strength that was as surprising as it was sore. But at night when all of the children were sleeping the noise and annoying distractions which had unconsciously comforted her ceased. The silence drowned her, filling every orifice until she couldn't breathe and all she could hear were the quiet whispers of loved ones that she knew to be long gone.

Or was it her that was long gone? She couldn't remember; the memories nearing the end were all fuzzy and blurred.

She could deal with the enormity of what had happen to her, both the possibilities and consequences. However denial was a double edged sword and while it kept her sane during the first few months when the wound was raw and bleeding, she was now a former shell of what she once was; a pale imitation that went about her days moping around and watching longingly when the moon rose at night with a reason she couldn't fathom.

Denying what had happened only helped to a point; and after that the only thing left was acceptance, no matter how cruel or unbelievable it was. Her death could not be denied any longer; the sensations so sharp that remembering its cold, unfeeling clutches never failed to make her shudder. Reincarnation could not be denied either; as she had awakened in a world as familiar as it was strange, but she could not remember why at first.

But when she first gazed out of a window after her first year of rebirth had passed, she saw the four faces etched onto a cliff. Mind spinning and stomach falling as her entire being filled with dread. She remembered now, and felt stupid: for how could have forgotten?

Henceforth, denial was vanquished, and all that was left was reluctant acceptance.

-..-

 **Hey there, it's been a while since I have published anything on this site, although I never actually left it. I do still read the fanfiction posted here but l kinda lost my passion for writing a few years back; I still write but not as much as I used to. I've had this idea in my back of my head for years and I thought 'why not?' and wrote a good chunk of it a while back but I keep on editing it and redoing it and I felt that I would never get the end product I was looking for. Am I happy with what I have now? Not entirely, but I feel like at this point that I'm only going to get somewhere with this if I actually get around to posting it. So, here I am.**

 **Any feedback on this will be very much appreciated; I'm bit unsure as to where this will take me but it has been mostly inspired by all the great OC fanfiction that I have been reading.**

 **Thanks for taking your time to read this.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

"Why are we here?" Minori found herself asking as she and the other children were rounded into the orphanage's lunch hall that afternoon.

She was quick to pick up the language, by the age of two she spoke the syllables of every word she knew to perfection. The prospective parents that came to meet them would remark on her advanced speech, crediting her as a genius. Minori would disagree, for she always did have a good memory.

The woman she had aimed her question at smiled, an act that looked as genuine as it was comforting. "A very nice man has come to adopt some of you; isn't that lovely?"

The child's brow deepened. "How many of us will go with him?"

"Three." She answered absentmindedly as she searched for the matron, the head of the orphanage, amongst the gathering of children that had accumulated. It occurred to Minori that her group was one of the last to arrive.

The matron rushed over to them, face flushed and panting slightly. "Over there." She pointed to a thinner part of the crowd, guiding them to that area.

Comfortably situated, Minori looked at the crowd which had gathered; instantly observing that every child present was no younger than 3 but no older than 8. The ages of the children present bothered her: old enough to walk and talk but still susceptible to outside influence and (aside from herself) suffered a lack of independency. _Malleable_ came to her mind, a word with ominous connotations.

Any further procrastination was denied to her by the opening of the hall's door. The room suddenly quietened, which made the creaking of the old wooden door opening all the more louder. A young man wrapped in a long grey cloak walked in, every step he took resonated with ill-concealed power and grace as he made his way to the centre of the room. He cut an imposing figure; on some instinctual level his presence demanded obedience and submission from those who looked upon him. The other children stood no chance, Minori watched as some of her peers' knees visibly shook with nerves as they stared at the mysterious man.

Her own impression of the man differed slightly. Amidst the tense silence she noted that he had quite a handsome face. A factor she deemed beneficial for his purpose: a pleasant looing face was much less frightening to the children than the face of a war-torn, scarred veteran. However his appeal was dampened by his dull eyes, which observed the room with a sense of detachment.

 _Root._

"Hello children." He smiled with his eyes closed as he greeted them, as if he too knew his lack of soul and sought to hide it. She noted that he didn't give a name, Minori suspected he didn't have one.

A whispered command from the caretakers hushed the children as the man came over to inspect them. He took their chins into his hand, staring intently as he examined them; sometimes taking up to five minutes studying one child. Minori didn't know what the man was looking for in those children, whether he was considering desirable physical or mental attributes or something entirely different.

It was a long process, some children were considered further by the man and were told to stay while others were sent back to their rooms. Minori could see their stubby hands reaching for their eyes as they walked away, secretly crying when they realised that were not going to go with the pretty man to a nice home. Minori thought it was a pity that the rejected children didn't know how lucky they were; having narrowly escaped an emotionless existence, saved from a quick funeral via a sharp kunai to tender throats and free from the smell of burning flesh as bodies were destroyed, leaving no evidence behind. No one would have remembered them, nor would anyone have cared.

Eventually it was her turn, and as he stood in front of her she noted that he was likely nearly three times her size, making escape near impossible.

When he stared into her eyes with his own unfeeling ones, Minori didn't know whether to keep staring back or avert her gaze. She had two options: be defiant or submissive, and she had no idea which one was more desirable to the supposed Root member. Defiance implied bravery and confidence, while submission implied adherence to rules and instructions.

A split second decision made her avert her gaze; her choice partly due to his uncomfortable gaze and her unwillingness to stare into the eyes of the living dead. He moved on after a long stare, not signalling the caretaker to dismiss her. A bad sign.

By the end of his selection, the crowd was reduced to a fraction of what it was. The group left consisted of ten children including herself; all sullen faced and frowning.

The man was silent as he looked over at the crowd, then pointed at a boy to the far left. "You, come forward."

The boy in question walked toward the man, he was thin and freckly with long, gangly limbs and constant dark rings under his muddy eyes. Pale orange hair hung limp as he bowed his head, as unwilling to stare into the man's eyes as she was. Next a girl in the middle was called forward. She walked with sharp movements, as if she could barely contain her energy. She was small, maybe a year younger than Minori. She realised then that she didn't know either of their names.

Lastly the man's gaze settled on her.

 _Shit_

"You too, girl." His hand was stretched towards her, as if it would entice her over. She stood still, taking in the hand held out to her and what it meant. Before she could figure out how to get out of this situation, the man walked toward her.

 _No_

" _No_!" She shouted in English, panicking as his silhouette edged closer. He stopped.

"What?" The matron, who had retreated to the far corner of the room, asked in confusion.

"No." Minori repeated in Japanese. "I don't want to go with the man."

"Why?" The matron asked as she walked towards the defiant child until they came face to face. "This man is offering you a nice place to live, where you'll be looked after and have nicer things than we will ever be able to afford here. Don't you want to go with him?"

The bemused expression on the woman's face as Minori shook her head told the girl that perhaps the aged matron did not know the fate which lay ahead of them if they chose to accept what the man was offering. That she truly thought that this was a rare opportunity to give some of the children an upbringing they would have never have had otherwise. It gave her hope that with enough defiance and persuasion, she would be able to win the woman over and save herself from a horrible, short second life.

It was also worthy to conclude that, with the matron's and root member's lack of reaction taken into consideration, that the English language, if not unknown to all of this world's native residences, was at least uncommon enough that she could speak it without compromising herself.

"Perhaps the child could trial our facilities and make her decision on whether she wants to stay with us later? It is certainly a possibility from our side." The man interrupted, his tone and body language deceptively pleasant.

The Matron, to Minori's dismay, fell for the man's unassuming but friendly charade. She knew better though, the man could fake a letter announcing her joy at her new life, asserting that she would never return to the orphanage. She was going to be kept there, whether she wanted or not.

"I suppose that there is no harm in her trying it is there? If she doesn't like she can always return here after all." The matron muttered to herself. Minori resisted the urge to growl; there was no way she would be able to convince the woman otherwise now.

It was not long before she and the other children were wrapped up in warm clothes; Konoha was in the midst of an unusually cold winter. They were told that they were not to pack any belongings and that everything they would need would be supplied by the organization that was taking them.

There was nothing quite as final in Minori's memory as when the doors to the orphanage had closed firmly shut in front of her; it was the swift rejection of safety and comfort. She stayed on the steps for a moment, staring at the doors which had condemned her and the other children to a dreary existence.

She sighed, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. Looking away from the door, Minori saw her future: the man and the other children. The children were frowning, a manifestation of their own uncertainties about where they were going, while the man watched with the same devoid look that had never once left his face.

"Hurry up." Was all he said, voice as emotionless as his face; he wasn't trying to pretend he cared now that the adults were not there to see him.

The children followed him through the deserted streets, the night sky illuminated by thick white clouds and gas lamps that hung from the townhouses; an odd mix of both eastern and western styles. Snow fell thinly, covering the tops of buildings and the ground in a substantial layer of white. Silence reigned supreme, and overall it was a serene scenic picture of what the village had to offer its inhabitants. Minori thought, with all the bitterness in the world, that it was perfectly ironic.

-..-

 **Thought I'd just post this also**


End file.
